Australia’s leading hot stock, “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) service, Afterpay is taking the next step toward expanding its reach. Just last week, the fintech announced a partnership with Stripe, the California-based financial technology company, that will now enable Stripe merchants to offer Afterpay on the spot.
Under the agreement, new and existing Stripe merchants will be able to effortlessly offer Afterpay to customers and expand their opportunity for sales. With Afterpay, shoppers are able to go home with their purchase while making the payment in four instalments. This bypasses the need to take out traditional loans, pay upfront fees, or interest if they pay their instalments on time. This brick-and-mortar development comes in Stripe’s 10th year of providing economic infrastructure for the internet. Today, Stripe powers hundreds of billions of dollars in payments in over 140 countries and territories globally.
The partnership particularly appeals to the new and growing demographic of shoppers, Millennials and Gen-Z, who have shown preference for this payment method. Furthering this point, Afterpay’s EVP of Global Sales, Strategy, and Operations, Ben Pressley, said, “We’re equipping retailers with the tools to meet this customer demand - offering the younger generation a way to use their own money and pay over time, always free of interest.” The availability of Afterpay will match the strong demand of users seeking flexible payments options especially during the pandemic. Enabling Stripe to have access to this functionality is a win-win for its merchants.
Adding to this major move was the announcement that Afterpay and Stripe will also be pairing up with Squarespace to create a fully integrated checkout experience for customers. Under this agreement, the website-building platform will be able to offer a combined integration of Stripe and Afterpay to eCommerce customers across Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. The agreement will enable merchants more flexibility with how they transact with their customers, without compromising the look and feel of their website.
Afterpay can now be integrated within all Stripe merchants across Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S., and will soon be available in the U.K. and Canada as well.
